| The Krofft Supershow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Joe Ruby Ken Spears |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Sid and Marty Krofft |
| Running time |
|
| Production company | Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 11, 1976 (1976-9-11) – September 2, 1978 (1978-9-2) |
| Related | |
| The Krofft Superstar Hour | |
The Krofft Supershow is a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced bySid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976, to September 2, 1978, onABC.[1]
The show was composed of several live-action segments, hosted by "Kaptain Kool and the Kongs", a rock band created for the series. The season one (1976–1977) segments wereDr. Shrinker,Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, andWonderbug, plus reruns ofThe Lost Saucer for the first half of the season (they were dropped when the show was cut from 90 minutes to one hour). For season two (1977–1978),Dr. Shrinker andElectra Woman and Dyna Girl were dropped and replaced withBigfoot and Wildboy andMagic Mongo. Each live-action segment was about 15 minutes in length.
Instead of a third season, the show was massively revamped (and moved to NBC) to feature the then-popularBay City Rollers. Now retitledThe Krofft Superstar Hour, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were replaced by the Rollers, and new live-action segmentsHorror Hotel andThe Lost Island replaced the older ones.
This group was a manufactured band responsible for hosting the show, introducing the other live-action segments, and performing skits and songs. For the first season, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were portrayed as a wackyglam rock band. Segments were videotaped at the short-livedWorld of Sid and Marty Krofft indoor amusement park inAtlanta. For season two, their image was toned down, and they were downsized from a five-person band to a four-person band. Their season-two segments were taped in a studio with an audience of children.
After the group was replaced by the Bay City Rollers, the group made appearances on other Sid and Marty Krofft productions, includingDonny & Marie,The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, andThe Krofft Komedy Hour. They also made an appearance onDick Clark'sAmerican Bandstand and they starred in twoprimetime TV specials featuring previews of ABC's Saturday-morning lineup.
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Two albums were released featuring Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, both in 1978: the self-titledKaptain Kool and the Kongs featured the band singing, andStories from the Krofft TV Supershow includes several comedy skits. In addition, they released one single, "And I Never Dreamed", written by Harvey Scales backed with "Sing Me a Song".[2][deprecated source]
Dr. Shrinker is an evil scientist with a lab on an uncharted island. When teenagers Brad, B.J., and Gordie are stranded on the island, Dr. Shrinker subjects them to his shrinker machine. They manage to escape the lab in miniature form; the series follows their adventures as they try to evade the clutches of the mad scientist and his assistant Hugo.
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Lori and Judy, reporters forNewsmaker magazine, are secretly Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, crime-fighting superheroines. Assisted by their friend Frank Heflin, they fought such supervillains as the Pharaoh and Cleopatra, the Sorcerer, Glitter Rock, Ali Baba, Spider Lady, and the Empress of Evil.
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Barry, C.C., and Susan are three teenaged friends who fixed up an old dune buggy (which they dubbed "Schlepcar"). When they attach a magic horn to the car, Schlepcar comes to life as Wonderbug. Wonderbug could fly, and it helped the teens fight crime.
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When teenagers Donald, Lorraine, and Kristy find an old bottle, they discover it is the home of agenie named Mongo. Mongo's magical attempts to help his young masters lead to many wacky misadventures.
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After Wildboy was orphaned in thePacific Northwest, he was found and raised byBigfoot, the legendary man-beast of the forest. The two work together to fight those who would harm the forest. In this series Bigfoot displayed "bionic" super powers in imitation ofThe Six Million Dollar Man, which was popular at this time; though this series never directly referenced the prie-time show. They were aided in the first season by Suzie, 12-year-old daughter of Ranger Lucas; in the second season, Suzie was replaced by Cindy, a youngarcheology student.
The episodes of "Bigfoot and Wildboy" that aired onThe Krofft Supershow were 15 minutes in length. In 1979, ABC brought back the show as a stand-alone series by editing the 15-minute segments into 30-minute episodes. New episodes were also filmed and aired in the summer of 1979.
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